One More Chance
by Khalida Jewel
Summary: After foiling a Dalek's plan to draw the Daleks out of the void, the Doctor has one more chance to see Rose again. Oneshot. Set between The Big Bang and The Impossible Astronaut.


The Dalek was consumed by fire as a pure white light shrunk on the wall. Amy had thought that the wall was white, but the rapidly vanishing light was the brightest white she had ever seen.

"What'd you do?" Rory asked, looking at the remains of the Dalek, parts of it still burning.

The Doctor was fiddling around with the machine the Dalek had been using. "You see, opening the void takes a tremendous amount of energy, energy on an unimaginable scale. I just rerouted the energy to the Dalek and blam! Roasted Dalek." He spoke of burning the Dalek as if it was simple as breathing. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he buzzed the surface of the contraption. "Now, how does it work..." he muttered.

"Why would be want to open the void? And what is it anyway?" Amy asked, glancing at the light. It was shrinking much more slowly now.

"The void is an empty space between parallel worlds." the Doctor said, still sonicing the machine. "The void was opened once and a bunch of Daleks and Cyberman got through. Well, it got closed, thanks to me and Rose-" He stopped speaking.

"You always do that." Amy said, a look on her face. The Amy Pond look. A look that meant she was curious and wanted to find out something. "You almost never talk about Rose, but when you do, you get this sad look in your eye. Who was she?"

"A bunch of Daleks are in there, floating around." the Doctor said, ignoring Amy.

"Doctor, who was she?" Amy asked again.

"An army waiting to happen-"

"Doctor, who was she?" Amy demanded.

The Doctor paused, the hum of his sonic screwdriver was the only sound in the room. "A friend." he finally said.

"Oh no, she was much more than that." Amy said. "You always get sad when you talk about her. So, so sad. You loved her, didn't you?"

The Doctor said nothing.

"Where's she now?" Rory asked, breaking the silence.

There was another pause before the Doctor finally responded. "Rose saved the world, but she got herself stuck in a parallel world."

"Can't you just go get her?" Amy asked.

"Amy, she's stuck there. She can't leave."

"And you never got to say goodbye." Rory said.

"Oh no, I did. I sent her a projection of me. I burned up a sun just to say goodbye." The Doctor smiled faintly. "Besides, she's got my clone."

"Your clone?" Amy asked.

"Story for another day." The Doctor said bluntly. "Now then..."

The sonic screwdriver fell to the ground.

The Doctor jumped, rapidly moving the levers and smashing the buttons of the machine. "I've been so stupid!" he yelled, whacking a switch. "So very stupid!"

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy said, looking worried.

"I have the power of a sun in this machine. The void is opened. I can talk to Rose Tyler one more time!" Another button was hit as the void opened slightly.

And there she was, a fuzzy image of the Doctor's pink and yellow girl, looking exactly the same way she had when he had left her back at Bad Wolf Bay two years ago.

"Hello." The Doctor said, a small smile on his face, the sudden energy gone.

"Doctor?" Rose whispered, looking at his new form.

"Yeah."

"You regenerated again."

"Yeah."

"You still traveling alone?" Rose asked.

"No." The Doctor turned to the couple standing behind him. "Amelia Pond and Rory Williams, meet Rose Tyler."

Amy's eyes were wide as she looked at the projection. Rose smiled her signature tounge-in-teeth smile.

"I would ask if you could come in any clearer, but the universe would probably explode or something." Rose laughed.

"I'm just trying to save energy." The Doctor said.

"How much time do we have left?"

"Around five minutes." The Doctor replied. "Where's the metacrisis?"

Rose paused. "He's dead. A few days after you left."

"I'm sorry Rose."

"He wouldn't listen to anyone. He just did whatever he wanted."

"Sounds about right." The Doctor laughed.

"He came on a Torchwood mission. He went off into the base of the alien camp even though we told him not too..." Tears were slipping down her cheeks. "I saw him die."

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said again.

"Its okay. It was two years ago."

"Two years since I left you on that beach." The Doctor said.

"You were just doing what you thought was right." Rose said.

"I could have taken you with me. Back in the TARDIS, where you belong."

"And left the Metacrisis alone?" Rose asked.

"Someone else could have helped him."

"It's done Doctor. Stop feeling guilty."

"Easier said then done."

Rose shook her head. "Nice bowtie." She replied after a pause.

The Doctor grinned."Bowties are cool." he replied, adjusting said bowtie.

"Looks good on you." Rose smiled again, wiping her tears away as more continued to fall.

"Where are you?" The Doctor asked.

"Bad Wolf Bay. I heard you calling my name. Followed it here."

"Rose, if you could, would you travel with me again?" The Doctor asked suddenly.

"Yes." She replied without any hesitation.

"Even if it meant leaving your family?"

"Like I said when I told you four years ago," Rose said. "I made my decision a long time ago."

Tears were brimming in the Doctor's eyes. "Rose, I never got to tell you something."

"What?" she asked.

"I love you." The Doctor said after a moment's hesitation.

"Quite right too." Rose quipped as more tears began to fall.

The Doctor smiled sadly.

"I love you too." Rose whispered, voice thick.

There was a pause. "Your fading." Rose said.

"Machine's running out of power. Less than a minute left." The Doctor said.

"I don't want you to go." Rose said, more tears falling.

"Me either." The Doctor said, a tear finally going down his cheek.

"I'll find you. I'll work on the dimension cannon again, make it so I can travel without blowing up the universe. I'll find you." Rose said.

"Rose, you can't."

"Watch me." Rose put her tounge between her teeth and smiled.

The Doctor chuckled, her image becoming fuzzier by the second. "Allons-y, Rose Tyler."

The Doctor was sure he could hear her laughter as the void closed and the machine exploded, sending fiery bits of metal into the air. Amy yanked the Doctor out of the way as a particularly large chunk crashed right where he stood. But only one thing was in his mind.

Rose.

0*0*0

"You can't just leave us!" Amy cried.

They were standing on the street, right in front of Amy's house. The TARDIS was a few feet away, right between the the neighbouring house and her's.

"I'm not leaving you two." The Doctor said. "I'm just dropping you off for a bit. You two need to relax."

"No, you need some space." Rory said.

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth.

"Promise it won't be twelve years?" Amy sighed.

"Amy, if it does turn out to be twelve years, I will eat my bowtie." The Doctor replied, walking to the TARDIS, the two close behind.

"I'd like to see that." Rory laughed.

Amy smiled. "Alright. You better come back soon mister."

The Doctor chuckled. "It's a TARDIS. You never know." he said, stepping inside.

"Doctor!" Amy cried as the doors closed.

The familiar sound of the TARDIS taking off filled the air and things began to blow around on the street. Amy and Rory watched the police box slowly fade until there was nothing there. Only then did they go into the house.

0*0*0

The Doctor set the TARDIS in the Time Vortex, eyes closed. Rory was right, he needed space. Space to think.

"Hello."

The Doctor paused. He knew that voice. That familiar voice. A voice he had heard just the day before.

"I told you." Rose said, a big grin on her face.

The Doctor swept her up into a bone crushing hug, both of them beaming. Rose had done it. She was back.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, just how it should be.


End file.
